Bailey's Christmas Concert

I have a little down time while Kelly is sleeping (see post below) so thought I would add some updates here that I've been meaning to do so here goes...Bailey had her school Christmas Concert recently. She is now in the 4th grade and so is allowed to choose if she wants to participate in the music program. She chose to be in both choir and orchestra. They don't normally have a choir but I guess the music teacher had a rare open period and Bailey and some other kids kept asking for one so she put it together. That teacher is a really nice lady!

Anyway, here is Bailey singing with the choir. She sang several songs but I picked this one because Bailey and 3 other girls are the only ones singing the high "Noels" and so she's extra proud of this one. You'll understand what I mean about the noels when you watch. Hey Dahlia, recognize the dress? Whenever she wants to wear it, which is a lot, it's called "The Maddie Dress." I had to find ways for her to wear it in winter as I'm sure you can see, but it actually works well!:

After she sang, she had to run over to her spot with the orchestra to play her violin. The orchestra is a really big deal at her school which kind of surprises me because when I was in the 4th grade it was the band that was a big deal. At Bailey's school the band is really small and the orchestra is HUGE. Go figure. Anyway, Bailey's been talking about playing the violin since the 1st grade so she was really happy to get to play it this year. They only let so many kids play each instrument and the big majority ask for the violin so she was lucky. I do think the music teacher was a bit of a help as she has a soft spot for Bailey. Anyway, here's Bai playing live for the first time:

Vaughn did the best he could while needing to sit for a long concert but as you can see he got restless after awhile. He is really turning into the busy little toddler. Thank goodness that my parents came along and were helping to entertain the little guy as Kelly wasn't able to get off work to come and I was videotaping the whole thing so he wouldn't miss a minute. I know had I been there by myself there's no way I could have done both. I love grandparents!!! Whether it's my folks or Kelly's, we know we can count on our family to help us out. Thank you all for that!

Well that's enough for now. I think I'll clean our room again. Yes, I know that housekeeping would do it (as Kelly keeps telling me) but it gives me something to do and I don't mind making the beds and picking up. Maybe I'll be lucky and Kel will wake-up soon and need me to do something. You know I'm really not very good at this "just relaxing" thing. Oh, and if you want to post comments, it means a lot to Bai to read them when they involve her...it would be much appreciated. Love to you all!

Kelly's Recovery

We have been stuck in the room since Kelly's surgery as this is pretty much what Kelly does all day...poor guy. We went down to the restaurant at the hotel once but other than that, I don't think Kelly's gone outdoors at all and we've been living off of room service. I did make it out to WalMart for a little bit yesterday to rent a couple of DVDs for us to watch. You know they have movie vending machines here? They're called "Redboxes." I've never heard of such a thing and the movie is only a buck to rent. How cool is that??? Uh-oh...I think I just got caught snapping photos as the beast is stirring. Hi Honey.

Here is a picture of his foot all casted up. It's a soft cast...the nurse said it would harden but I think she was wrong as it doesn't seem to be that way. Plus Dr. Freed said he would be checking the stitches on Monday and I don't think he could check them in a hard cast. Dr. Freed is really great and he even kissed the top of Kelly's bald head when he was all doped up in recovery...it was really cute!

One good thing, Kelly doesn't need to use crutches...that would SUCK! So instead we rented this scooter thing as Kelly isn't allowed to put any weight at all on his foot. Kelly says it works pretty well and is kind of fun. We learned the hard way though that this is a one person operation and that I shouldn't try to help...sorry Kel! He put his other foot up when he was tired and I tried to pull him along only to find a divet in the pavement and overturn the full thing...scooter and Kelly over on myself. I'm glad he landed on me and not the pavement though. Since then I've left him to his own devices with the scooter.

All in all, he's doing well and I'm bored out of my gourd when he's sleeping. I like being here to take care of him so I really don't mind but goodness I'm getting tired of looking at these walls...maybe he'll share some of his percocet so I can nap too? Anyway, I'm sure I'll post more later with pictures from our last trip here where we got to have some fun and some other family stuff but Kelly's awake now and wants one of his only luxuries at the moment...his computer. Love to all!

Kelly's Surgery

I have lots of blog posts to add to this site over the next couple of weeks...lots pictures and lots of events and I'm sure I'll have more once I have Christmas pictures but for now I just wanted to put up a little post to let everyone know that Kelly's surgery went great!
He is currently napping as he's been doing most of the day and is blissfully pain free from his percocet. The doctor showed me the scope pictures of the damage to his ankle when they first started and then how his ankle looked after he fixed it and boy what a difference! I can certainly see how Kelly could have had so much pain for so long. He is moving around okay when he's up...thank goodness for his little scoot along thing (like a walker but only for one leg???) as I can't imagine him having to maneuver around on crutches especially while he's so drugged up.
Anyway, I am relieved that all has gone so well so far and I think Kelly is enjoying being pampered and getting some much needed rest. He'll be in the cast for about a month and then have 2 weeks of physical therapy but things are already looking good for him. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery!

Kelly's Birthday Trip To See Mom

For Kelly's birthday I got him a trip to see his mom, Dee, in Anchorage. Because I had an extra companion ticket, he took Bailey along. I know this is a little late in my posting but I just got the pictures dowloaded from the camera.
Here's a picture of Bailey and Dee in Dee's new home. For those that don't know, Dee just moved to Anchorage a couple of months ago because she got a job with the FAA. We miss her but we know she really wanted this job so we're really happy for her.

While they were in Anchorage, Kelly, Dee, and Bailey had a great time. They went to H2Oasis, Benihanas, the Zcoil shop, a costume shop, the Diamond Center Mall and of course our favorite burger joint Red Robin. Man I wish they'd get one of those here!

Really though, even though they went out a lot, I think the part that Kelly liked best was just staying in and hanging out with Mom. Kelly and Dee are really close and Kelly really enjoys just hanging out with her, maybe having a cocktail or two, and chatting at the kitchen table. Oh, and he really liked her letting him sleep in until noon and then making him breakfast as well. Maybe I'll sneak away to Dee's house. :)

All in all, it was a great birthday for Kelly and I think I got him the perfect present. We're now looking forward to Dee joining us for Christmas but until then...We love you and miss you Dee!

38th Anniversary/Silver Gulch

My parents were celebrating their 38th anniversary so we took them out to the Silver Gulch Brewhouse Restaraunt. I think this restaraunt is really neat because it is a local piece of history. The Silver Gulch used to be the Fox Roadhouse and instead of ripping it down to build the brewhouse, they built the new brewhouse around the old fox roadhouse building. Bailey loves to go upstairs and see the shell of the old building, windows and all, in the center of the new building.

True to their name, the have a brewery as well where they make beer and ale that is locally themed such as Fairbanks Lager and Coldfoot Pilsner. We're not beer drinkers ourselves but it was fun to see the giant tanks and such.

Here's our table in the main part of the restaraunt.

Kelly couldn't resist taking a video of the family...but mostly Vaughn in his little sweater-vest and tie. Too cute!

We finished up the evening with the new Madagascar movie at the theater. All in all it was a great evening and one that made me so proud as in this day and age it's nice to have proof that marriages can last. Congrats Mom and Dad, we're proud of you!

Montgomery Gentry Concert

Kelly, Bailey, and I were lucky enough to go to the Montgomery Gentry concert at the Carlson Center on 11/5 (Thanks again Kelly!). We had a blast...well, I had a blast, Kelly had an okay time, and Bailey tried to stay awake and sneak in reading time as she had brought her book with her. Anyway, Kelly got us tickets on the floor near the stage so we were really excited. Unfortunately, our seats were behind several people that were over 6 feet tall so none of could really see. Finally, because of Bailey, one of the security people felt sorry for us and moved us even closer to the front and the next of the night was gravy! It was also kind of neat because the opening band was had some of our friends in the group, my friend Mark and Kelly's co-worker Rod. I was going to post the video but it wasn't so great...but here's a great picture Kelly got of Montgomery Gentry.


Here's some video Kelly took of Bailey and I rocking out to the concert. Guess Bailey didn't nap and read the whole time.


All in all it was a special and unique experience for us and I know I had a great time.

6 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Hearing Kelly and Bailey laugh at a movie. Kelly laughs loud and bold and with full joy so that you can't help but to laugh with him. Bailey giggles out of control and her face stretches into such a huge grin that it looks like it hurts. The two of them will watch a funny movie and I get those two laughs in stereo and there's no better sound.

2. Snuggling Vaughn when he's quiet and sleepy. He doesn't really snuggle much any more, he's too busy, but sometimes when he's really tired and sleepy he'll snuggle right in, smile at me, and talk in the softest little voice saying things like "I wuv you" or "Hi Mama." It brings me peace.

3. Kelly rubbing my back until I fall asleep. His gentle touch shows me he loves me while at the same time the massage relaxes me so that I drift off into the most pleasant rest. He'll tell you that I'm greedy and that I make him rub even though I've already dozed off and he's probably right but I can't help it...those gentle touches from the man I adore are just intoxicating.

4. Watching Bailey do something that brings her pride. She gets so proud of herself and she stands up tall and grins and kind of pushes out her chest a little and you just know she's having one of those "Yep, that was me. I'm awesome" moments.

5. Going on vacation. I LOVE to travel. I love to see new things. I love to be pampered. Really though, I love to watch the reactions on the faces of the ones I love when they go and experience these things. To see them getting to do things that bring them such joy makes me happier than doing them myself.

6. Spending time with family...all my family, whether it be with Kelly, Bailey, and Vaughn or with my parents, with Jeremy & Dahlia or Melissa and Sean or Dee and Yoda...doesn't matter. I didn't grow up with a lot of extended family so marrying Kelly gave me that. Who knew he came with even more gifts? It's a treat to me to have all these branches of our family that we get to love and experience.

Ok Miss, I did it. Your turn Dahlia. :) Oh and Miss I tried to respond to your post about your six...but again you've deemed me unworthy. :(